NEW ORLEANS: GUARDS: This offense will belong to ERIC GORDON. He'll get over the fact that the Hornets matched his offer from Phoenix, and as long as his surgically-repaired knee holds up, he's one of the most complete young scorers in the NBA . . . The Hornets reached for AUSTIN RIVERS with the 10th pick because Monty Williams wants to coach him and thinks he can be an NBA point guard. Rivers has the handle, but his athleticism is ordinary and, more importantly, he has never shown a PG mentality at any level . . . GREIVIS VASQUEZ is the closest thing to a true point guard on this roster. He'll see solid minutes assuming Rivers' adjustment is a tough one . . . Well-rounded ROGER MASON JR. will also provide point guard depth . . . XAVIER HENRY hasn't lived up to his reputation as a shooter, but the Hornets can be patient with him . . . Rookie BRIAN ROBERTS has had a strong enough preseason to likely earn a roster spot. FORWARDS: ANTHONY DAVIS should step right in as a starter. His offensive game is further along than he gets credit for, and on the defensive end he's an absolute force from the basket out to the perimeter . . . He'll probably miss having Dwight Howard drawing in defenses, but RYAN ANDERSON has always been a very good three-point shooter. He and Davis are unique enough talents to share the court even if they're both power forwards . . . AL-FAROUQ AMINU made some strides on the defensive end late last season, which is what will get him minutes under Williams. He's underwhelming on the offensive end . . . If HAKIM WARRICK couldn't succeed as Steve Nash's pick-and-roll partner, it seems unlikely he'll ever help in New Orleans . . . Rookie DARIUS MILLER is looking to establish some kind of role with the team . . . LANCE THOMAS is doubtful to earn a salary to pay off his jewelry debts. CENTERS: ROBIN LOPEZ has always had the ability to protect the rim and does a decent job in space. Look for him to end up grabbing the bulk of minutes in the middle . . . JASON SMITH gives the Hornets a more offensive-minded option off the bench.

DALLAS: GUARDS: DARREN COLLISON's jump shot might be shaky, but he can get into the lane at will. He'll be a much different look than Jason Kidd had been in Big D . . . O.J. MAYO becomes the second option in this offense. He'll have the ball in his hands a lot . . . VINCE CARTER will come off the bench. At this point, he's a three-point specialist, and not a very good one . . . DELONTE WEST will back up both guard spots. Don't be surprised if he overtakes Collison at some point . . . RODDY BEAUBOIS can heat up in an instant, but he has work to do to make this rotation . . . DAHNTAY JONES is roster filler . . . DOMINIQUE JONES enters the year on the roster bubble . . . JARED CUNNINGHAM will learn the point guard position watching from the bench as a rookie. FORWARDS: After a slow start last season, DIRK NOWITZKI looked like the Dirk of old in the second half of the year. He's still got something left in the tank, but it's still unclear if the swelling in his knee will require surgery, something that would shelve him for more than a month . . . SHAWN MARION is still an important cog in Carlisle's creative defensive gameplans, so he'll keep playing big minutes despite his dwindling offensive skills . . . ELTON BRAND is still relevant, even behind Nowitzki, because of his ability to play some center . . . BRANDAN WRIGHT will be in and out of the rotation again, but he's now relatively healthy and showed signs of being a serviceable rotation player a year ago . . . Rookie Jae CROWDER profiles as a potentially solid second-unit player, but he'll be buried on this depth chart. CENTERS: CHRIS KAMAN gives Dallas some offensive skill at center, but he's not exactly the defensive presence they've needed. He'll log the bulk of the minutes here, but there are going to be a handful of games where the Mavs have to sit him and go small for defensive purposes . . . 27-year-old rookie BERNARD JAMES could fill Ian Mahinmi's old role of a shot-blocker/fouler off the bench.